Search:

Thanks for the nice feedback. I'm glad you guys are using them!

Hi, everybody. I started a blog when I was preparing for some flatpick and mandolin contests years ago, to share the tools I was using to practice. I recorded a lot of backing tracks to practice...

I haven't been posting much lately, but there are backing tracks for about 30 or so jam standards on my blog. Just added Leather Britches and Cuckoo's Nest recently. It's all free.
...

I recommend learning some songs you can sing while accompanying yourself:

1. Knocking on Heaven's Door
2. The Fox
3. Brown Eyed Girl
4. I Never Go Around Mirrors
5. Let It Be

And lots of...

I'm heading to Smith Mountain Lake with the family next week. Curious if there are any open jams in the area, or pickers who'd like to meet up and pick a few. Thanks!

1. Skaggs and Rice. A beautiful sampling of mandolin in a traditional style duo.
2. Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe. Ronnie McCoury tears it up.
3. Fiddle Tune X. Cafe fixture...

I play an Eastman MD-515. It's pretty nice--certainly good enough for me with my not-professional skills. It's not the mandolin I've always dreamed of--it's a bit more bright and brash than I would...

For quick and easy recording in iOS, I like to use an app called ISaidWhat? for its flexibility in exporting (especially exporting to my desktop via wifi with no wires required). For more involved...

I can't answer the Loar half of your question, but I play an Eastman 515, and works pretty well for me. I agree that it's bright, a little more so than I would like, but it would sound good for the...

Thank you. MikeyG, I'll post some more vids here if I ever get some more done.

Thanks for bumping. I hadn't seen this video before--what a great performance of a great fiddle tune!

Here's a slower version of Over the Waterfall, fingerstyle guitar and mandolin, that I recorded recently.


http://youtu.be/m4zTgBa_RfU

I haven't been playing mandolin a lot lately. It felt...

Thanks for sharing, David. Great music & cause. I'll be buying one!

Thanks, man. I had fun making that video, and I'm planning to do some more like that now that this album is done.

You should give it a try. Nothing like recording to help improve the playing...

It's a Christmas album. It's not entirely mando-centric, but has a good deal of mandolin content. Check it out, if you feel inclined:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/purereligion
...

Woody Guthrie--Remember the Mountain Bed (from the Mermaid Avenue album)

Patty Griffin--Heavenly Day

And a ditto on Bob Dylan--Forever Young

Thanks, you guys. I appreciate all the nice comments. Several folks asked about how I recorded, so I thought I'd give a quick overview. The really short version is that I record the audio...

Hi, all. I made my first YouTube video with mandolin today--typically I'm more of a guitar picker. It was fun, and I realized I have a LOT to learn about video editing.
...

Thanks, you guys. I appreciate the kind words.

Hi, all,

I've added a few more (free) rhythm tracks to the blog since I checked in here last time. Rebecca, Temperance Reel, and Fox on the Run. Hope you enjoy!

Dave

Probably 60 to 90 minutes. Three audio tracks (guitar, rhythm guitar, mando), with some false starts. Then the upright bass virtual instrument, that took the longest to figure out how to play it,...

Ooh, sorry to hear about the calendar. I didn't think about that--I use a gmail account calendar that I share with my wife, so my changes update her calendar and vice versa. It wasn't affected by...

Here are some things that come to mind:
-Chop rhythm
-Use of flatted 3rds and 7ths in major key songs
-Strong tremolo, often with double stops, in slow songs
-Phrases are primarily made up of...

brmichaelpaul--yes, it's available for iPod touch. You probably have to update to the new operating system.

That's what I've found, too--you have to scrub your settings after you update. The default settings after the update for location based services, notifications, updates, badges, etc. are probably...